Posted: Friday, March 5, 12:45 p.m. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is receiving treatment in the GW Hospital Intensive Care Unit after being admitted to the center Thursday night for stomach pains.

Emergency room doctors determined Ashcroft was suffering from a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis, and was admitted to the hospital for monitoring, Justice Department officials told The Hatchet.

“He was admitted to intensive care for careful monitoring and is being treated with antibiotics,” said spokesman Mark Corallo in a press release. “Doctors expect to know more within 48 hours.”

Ashcroft’s condition, which is not life-threatening, occurs when a gallstone becomes lodged in the pancreas. Officials said Ashcroft will likely remain in the hospital throughout the weekend.

GW Hospital often treats U.S. political officials, serving as Vice President Dick Cheney’s main treatment center for his heart condition. The hospital also treated President Ronald Reagan after he was shot in an assassination attempt in 1981.

Check www.gwhatchet.com for details throughout the day.

–Michael Barnett contributed to this report.